iQOO 15 India price will be between Rs 65,000–70,000, confirms CEO: here’s why

According to Marya, the pricing direction was not the original intent when the product was conceptualised nearly a year ago. He revealed that the team set out with a clear vision of creating “the best possible flagship” while maintaining strong value, something that has long been core to iQOO’s brand philosophy. However, rising global component and memory pricing over the past few months has altered cost structures significantly. Marya noted that memory costs, in particular, have “shot through the roof”, citing a recent Reuters report stating that Samsung has hiked memory chip prices by up to 60 percent due to a shortage, thanks to a global rise in building AI data centres. He added that the elevated pricing trend is likely to continue into Q3 and Q4 next year, leaving brands with limited flexibility.

When it comes to hardware, the iQOO 15 appears to mark a pivotal shift for the brand from being perceived largely as a performance-focused smartphone maker to positioning itself as a complete all-round flagship. We know that the iQOO 15 will feature a Samsung 2K M14 OLED panel, which Marya describes as one of the highest-grade displays currently available and potentially the first of its kind in the Android ecosystem. He highlighted several advantages of the panel, including 2600 nits high brightness mode (HBM), which is the highest in the industry, reduced eye strain due to the absence of a traditional polariser, and ultra-low brightness tuning that activates below one nit for comfortable night-time use.

The intention is to adapt to an unavoidable global supply situation while continuing to ship a true flagship-grade device.

Performance remains a defining pillar for the brand, and the iQOO 15 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 alongside iQOO’s proprietary Q3 gaming chip, enabling features like 144Hz gaming and ray tracing support, which is another industry-first combination. The device will also include a significantly large 8K single-layer VC cooling system, upgraded haptics, and a newly introduced Game Livestreaming Assistant, which enables direct content streaming from phone to PC without additional hardware or apps required, something Marya claims esports players are already testing.

Software is another area where iQOO and Vivo have worked on, bringing not just OriginOS to India, which solves a lot of the pain points that users had with Funtouch OS, but also promises extended software support. The iQOO 15 will support five years of software upgrades and seven years of security updates, bringing it one step closer to what brands like Samsung and Google offer. “What people might now realise is that every Android version also has a cost,” Marya added.

iQOO 15 not only promises solid hardware upgrades, but also extended software support with a 5+7 update policy.

For cameras, iQOO is aiming for a more versatile setup featuring a 50-megapixel IMX921 main sensor, accompanied by 50-megapixel ultra-wide and telephoto cameras, including a periscope zoom lens, which was notably absent in the previous generation. The company has also introduced an 85mm portrait focal length, positioning it between the more common 50mm and 100mm, for more natural portrait framing. Combined with NICE 2.0 imaging algorithm, Marya believes the iQOO 15 will deliver a camera experience that can stand confidently against other premium flagships.

The iQOO India CEO also weighed in on the growing industry preference for flat displays in premium phones – brands like OnePlus and OPPO have switched from curved to flat displays on their recent flagship offerings. While curved displays offer novelty and a perceived premium feel, particularly in lower price tiers, he opines that flagship buyers tend to prioritise practicality, durability, accessory compatibility, and gaming comfort, making flat displays a more suitable choice for brands, especially iQOO.

While some fans might be disappointed regarding the pricing of the upcoming iQOO 15, it’s important to understand the current problem of rising component prices that is affecting not just iQOO but every other brand as well. The OnePlus 15 was launched with a Rs 3,000 price hike over its predecessor, while the OPPO Find X9 received a Rs 5,000 price bump. I recently reviewed the OnePlus 15 and found the price hike was justified given the upgrades being offered. At the end of the day, it’s the product that will do the talking, and it sounds like the iQOO 15 is packing more than a few upgrades under the hood to get buyers to upgrade.

The iQOO 15 is set to launch in India on November 26th, and based on early information, it aims to be iQOO’s most feature-complete flagship to date, not just the fastest.